Rope structures are typically tension members formed by laid, braided, or woven fibers. The fibers, typically synthetic fibers, extend along at least a portion of the rope structure. In many situations, the rope structure may only be effectively shortened by modifying the splices or by cutting the fibers. Cutting fibers permanently alters the rope structure, and forming a resplice may be too time consuming or cannot be easily performed in the field. On the other hand, a rope structure may be lengthened only by splicing or otherwise joining together two lengths of rope structures. Splicing can change the characteristics of the rope structure, especially at the termination region. Other methods of changing rope length are more difficult to implement than splicing, and such ropes must be specially designed to allow the length of the rope to be freely changed, with limitations on how much change can be accomplished. Accordingly, altering the length of rope structures is difficult, especially when lengthening a rope structure in the field. Often, the entire rope is thus typically replaced when a longer or shorter rope is required.
Another aspect of typical ropes is that it is difficult to apply a tension force on the rope at locations along the body of the rope other than special terminations formed at the ends of the rope.
Chains have long been made of closed metal or plastic links that are joined together to form a chain structure of a required length. A chain may be lengthened by adding links and shortened by removing links. Further, a tension load may be applied to the body of the chain at locations spaced from the ends of the chain by inserting an appropriate connector through an open link. However, adding and removing links typically requires advanced metalworking techniques that are not feasible under most field conditions. Further, metal chains are not appropriate for many environments in which the weight and operational characteristics of a metal chain are inappropriate. Plastic may also be difficult to alter in the field and is too weak for many applications.
The need thus exists for improved rope structures, systems, and methods that can be made of synthetic fibers, can easily be lengthened or shortened in the field without a special rope design or by splicing or permanently altering the rope by cutting the fibers, and which allow a tension load to be applied to the body of the rope away from the ends of the rope.